Dr. Lenay Dunn

Over her 20 years of experience in education research, Lenay Dunn has developed expertise in mixed-methods research, program evaluation, policy implementation, technical assistance, and research use. As a Senior Research Director, she fosters knowledge exchange and evidence use with and between state education agencies, local education agencies, institutions of higher education, and other education partners. She helps partners develop, select, and use evidence to make decisions; guide implementation; and improve educational systems, opportunities, and outcomes. Dunn leads projects on topics including early literacy, school improvement, postsecondary access and success, chronic absence, and teacher recruitment and retention. Previously at WestEd she served as Deputy Director for the Regional Educational Laboratory West and Associate Director of the Center on School Turnaround. She has led the development of research and evidence-based frameworks and tools, in partnership with practitioners, to guide evidence-informed improvements. For example, she coauthored the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement, a widely used framework to inform systemic improvement efforts. Before joining WestEd, Dunn served as the Director of Research and Evaluation for a unit at Arizona State University and as a Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Dunn entered the education field as a teacher and spent several years leading school and university-based programs focused on ensuring students have access to opportunities and supports to succeed.

Dunn earned her MA in education from Stanford University and her PhD in education policy from Arizona State University. She also holds a certificate in Applied Project Management from Northwestern University.